A 26 year-old graduate of the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is now among the youngest cabinet ministers in Canadian history. In fact, the Hon. Currie Dixon, who was sworn in as Yukon’s Minister of the Environment and Economic Development on November 5, just completed his master’s degree in political science at UNBC in May, 2011.

“Some people may believe that it’s  a little counter-intuitive to be named both Minister of the Environment and Minister of Economic Development, but it’s critically important that we develop our resources in ways that are environmentally sustainable” says Dixon, who hails from Whitehorse and is the MLA for Copperbelt North, Yukon’s second most populated riding. “If I hadn’t gone to UNBC and attained my master’s degree, I don’t believe I would have advanced to the position of Senior Policy Advisor to Premier Pasloski, continued my involvement in politics, and ultimately been elected to represent the people of my riding.”

 “Currie was one of the best students I’ve ever supervised,” says UNBC Political Science professor Gary Wilson, who supervised Dixon’s master’s project. The research paper involved the relationship between Yukon First Nations and the Yukon government with respect to Education. “He was very bright and passionate about his topic so it’s not surprising that he’s had such success so soon after graduation.”

UNBC has a history of producing politically-motivated young people, including Dixon and Canada’s current Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, James Moore, who graduated from UNBC with a BA in Political Science and went on to become the fourth-youngest MP ever to be named to the Federal Cabinet.

“I benefitted from having excellent and easily accessible professors at UNBC,” says Dixon, whose portfolio now includes sustainably developing Yukon’s burgeoning oil, gas, and mining sectors. “I believe the skills and training I learned at UNBC have given me an ability to be much more analytical and objective when it comes to policy and political decision-making. I can’t say enough about UNBC.”

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The Hon. Currie Dixon